The prior art has for a considerable time taught large bottles (usually 20 liters) containing water, which are inserted in water dispensers having a tap valve. In order to be usable with various types of dispenser, however, these bottles have to be of standard shape and size, especially as regards their mouths.
These bottles are generally closed by a single-use capsule, usually made of plastic, which has an opening zone that is accessible from the outside, so that at the moment when the bottle is inserted in the distributor a spout of the dispenser is also inserted, enabling the water in the bottle to be accessed. The openable zone is normally located in the centre of the capsule, and is closed by a cap which is pushed into the bottle itself by the spout when the bottle is inserted in the dispenser. The openable zone of the bottle capsule is externally protected by a guard, usually a cover or a thin paper or plastic disc glued onto the upper part of the capsule, which is removed before inserting the bottle in the dispenser. Internally of the capsule there is a seal disc which, when the capsule is inserted on the bottle, stays at the bottle mouth to guarantee a seal.
Some examples of these known capsules are described in EP 0816283, U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,867, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,555 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,530.
When making these capsules, which are produced and used in considerable numbers, it is extremely important to limit the unit cost of production. For this reason it is extremely important to limit the number of pieces necessary for manufacturing the capsule, and the quantity of material necessary for realising the various pieces thereof.
The main aim of the present invention is to provide a capsule having a limited number of pieces and which uses a limited quantity of material for realising the various pieces, thus considerably reducing manufacturing costs.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a capsule which is extremely easy to use.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a capsule which can be used on standard-sized bottles.
These aims and advantages and more besides are all attained by the capsule of the invention, as it is characterised in the claims that follow.
In the figures of the drawings, 1 denotes a capsule destined to be used for closing large bottles 2, normally with a 20-liter capacity and destined to contain water. The bottles are inserted in special distributors which dispense water through a tap valve. In order to be inserted in the various types of distributors, the bottles are of a standard size and shape, especially around the area of their mouths, which exhibit a cylindrical annular projection 2a fashioned on the neck of the bottle at a predetermined distance from the mouth of the bottle, and a specially-shaped external annular projection 2b made on the external surface of the bottle 2 close to the mouth. Both the cylindrical annular projection 2a and the external annular projection 2b have standard locations and dimensions in the various bottles. As with known capsules of this type, the capsule of the invention comprises an openable zone 4 which is delimited by a cylindrical wall 1d which projects coaxially and internally of the capsule from the upper surface 1a of the capsule itself.
The openable zone 4 is, as will be described in more detail herein below, accessible from the outside. The openable zone is inferiorly closed by a cap 3 which is inserted sealingly in the cylindrical wall 1d. Water is removed through the openable zone 4, as will be better described herein below.
The capsule of the invention comprises a protection element for the openable zone 4 which in turn comprises a disc 5 which is fashioned superiorly of the openable zone 4 and made in a single piece with the capsule. The disc 5 is peripherally connected with the opening of the openable zone 4 by means of easy-break ribs 6, and is coplanar to the upper surface 1a of the capsule. For reasons that will be better explained herein below, two opposite ribs are preferable as illustrated in the figure of the drawings, though three could also be provided.
To complete the protection of the openable zone, the protection element of the capsule further comprises a thin annular skin 6a which is made in a single piece with the capsule during its injection-forming. The skin 6a is much thinner than the upper surface 1a, the disc 5 and the ribs 6. The skin 6a provides a hermetic closure of the annular space between the upper surface 1a of the capsule and the disc 5. As the capsule 1 is made by injection-moulding for food use, the thin annular skin 6a is manufactured as a sort of fin or burr, which is very easily obtained by leaving, in the zone corresponding to the annular skin 6a, a slight distance between the upper die and the lower die used for making the capsule.
The capsule of the invention also comprises an internal hoop 1b which is fashioned internally of the capsule 1 and coaxially thereto. The internal hoop 1b projects from the internal surface of the capsule 1 and is so dimensioned as to fit sealingly internally of the mouth of the bottle 2 when the capsule 1 is inserted on the bottle. The internal hoop 1b is obtained directly during the moulding of the capsule, and guarantees the seal of the capsule, eliminating the need for seal discs internally of the capsule.
The capsule further comprises an internal annular projection 1e which is internally fashioned on the capsule 1; the annular projection 1e defines, with the internal annular hoop 1b, a seating in which, when the capsule is inserted on the bottle, the external annular hoop 2b made on the external surface of the bottle neck 2 inserts. In this way a good and solid grip of the capsule on the bottle neck 2 is obtained.
The upper part of the capsule has a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the external hoop 1c and defines, in the connection zone between the external hoop 1c and the upper part of the capsule, an annular projection 1f having a hook-shape. This resulting hook means that the capsule is easily gripped by known-type machines typically used in bottling plants.
The capsule of the invention is press-inserted on the bottle in the bottling plant. Up until moment of use, the capsule remains solidly anchored to the bottle and its removal is particularly difficult because the external hoop 1c constitutes a sort of single surface with the external surface of the annular projection 2a of the neck of the bottle, making a manual extraction (even using tools) of the capsule from the bottle difficult.
The openable zone 4, which as in known capsules is inferiorly sealingly closed by the cap 3, is protected superiorly by the disc 5 and the annular skin 6a which completely close the openable zone 4, preventing any external agents such as dust or the like from penetrating inside the capsule.
Furthermore, the bottle cannot be opened without signal thereof due to the presence of the easy-break ribs 6 and the skin 6a, which constitute a sort of anti-tamper security device. Note that, both the protection in the openable zone and the security device are obtained directly during the manufacturing of the capsule, without any need, as there is in known capsules, to add further elements, such as glued-on discs and the like.
When in use, the disc 5 is manually removed; the operation is particularly easy because, following a slight pressure, the disc 5 rotates around the ribs, after rupturing the thin skin 6a, and can therefore be gripped by hand and pulled to break the ribs.
Thereafter, as happens with known capsules, a spout is introduced into the openable zone of the capsule, which, after having pushed the cap 3 into the bottle, penetrates into the bottle and enables the water to be removed. Note that the cap 3 exhibits no contamination from external agents because, up until the moment of use, the cap 3 is hermetically protected.
When the empty bottle is returned to the bottling plant, removal of the old capsule is made extremely easy by virtue of the presence of the annular projection 1f which enables the capsule to be easily gripped by the handling machines.